Laura Smith Ph.D.
Professor & Chair, English
English | School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Education
- Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin with Portfolio in Gender and Sexuality Studies
- M.A. University of Texas at Austin
- B.A. College of William and Mary in Virginia
Professional Experience
- Professor, English, Stevenson University, 2021-present
- Associate Professor, English, Stevenson University, 2016-2021
- Assistant Professor, English, Stevenson University, 2010-2016
Research
Poetry and poetics; contemporary American poetry; African American literature and theory; LGBTQ literature and theory; history of poetic form.
Publications
Book
- Sonnets from the American: An Anthology of Poems and Essays. Co-edited with Dora Malech. University of Iowa Press, 2022.
Articles
- \”Texuality in a Jazz Aesthetic: Textual Rituals for Transformation in Sharon Bridgforth\’s love conjure/blues.\” Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States 46, 2 (Summer 2021).
- “From Rupture to Remembering: Flesh Memory and the Embodied Experimentalism of Akilah Oliver.\” Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States 35, 2 (Summer 2010): 103-120. (Republished in The Akilah Oliver Memorial, Belladonna Press, 2011.)
- Co-editor of Special Issue, “Bridging the Gap: Emerging Scholars, Emerging Forms of Scholarship.\” Reflections: Writing, Service-Learning, and Community Literacy 7, 3 (Summer 2008).
Poetry
- Shape-Shifting Researches 1,\” Rogue Agent 66 (Summer 2020).
- “Unstruck,\” “Turn,\” Ruminate Magazine 41 (2016).
- “Dress,\” Bone Bouquet 7.1 (2016).
- “Good Friday,\” “Balasana as a Means of Travel,\” “Daylight Savings.\” PANK: Emerging and Experimental Poetry & Prose 8.11 (2013).
- “Descending to A.\” Performance adaption of Alice Notley’s The Descent of Alette. Cohen New Works Festival, University of Texas at Austin, September 2008.
- “California,\” “Her Skin Returning,\” “From Spruce to Chestnut,\” Monday Night 3, Spring 2005.
- Fault/Lines. Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Aug-Sept 2002. With Ronald Carter, Susan Phillips, Denise Valentine, Irma Bauer.
- Cold Cradle: Cocaine, Missiles, Pop Culture, and Peanuts. Philadelphia Fringe Festival Adjudicated Selection. Philadelphia, PA. Aug-Sept 2001. With Ronald Carter, Susan Phillips, Julia Moreno, and Mattie O’Boyle.
Teaching
- ENG 224. Introduction to Creative Writing.
- ENG 225. Forms of Poetry.
- ENG 230. Critical Approaches to Literary Study I.
- ENG 281. African American Performance on Page, Stage, Screen.
- ENG 281. The Graphic Novel and Visual Literature.
- ENG 281. LGBTQAI+ Literature and Culture
- ENG 287. Literary Genres: Poetry.
- ENG 326. Poetry Workshop.
- ENG 337 Advanced Writing: Grant Writing.
- ENG 338 Writing for Professions: Health Professions.
- ENG 353. Contemporary American Literature.
- ENG 381. Rebels and Revolution: Protest Lit.
- ENG 385. Epic Vision and Revision.
- ENG 385. Sex and Death: The Sonnet Since Shakespeare.
- ENG 401. Major Author: Toni Morrison.
- ENG 401. Major Author: Langston Hughes.
Highlights
- Co-organizer, Sonnets from the American Symposium, October 1-3, 2020
- Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities Scholars Institute, 2015
- Artist Residency, Marble House Project, 2014
- Founding Director, Stevenson Summer Writers\’ Workshop, 2013-2017
- Texas Institute for Literary and Textual Studies (TILTS) Fellow, 2012
- John Lovas Memorial Weblog Award, Kairos, 2010
- O’Neal Award for Graduate Excellence, 2010
- Cohen New Works Festival Seed Grant, 2008
- PAGE Fellow, Imagining America, 2008
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